Asthma and Opiates

[dexforfood]

I am an asthmatic with a long term opiate addiction. But in the past 3 months, ive been noticing a strange effect with opiates thats scaring the hell out of me.

Heres how it goes:

Today I woke up and did a oxy 30. This isn't a dose that gets me high, but it keeps me from being sick. To be high I would need about 80-120 mg really, and thats not even being really fucked up, just buzzed. But even on a small dose I get this feeling in my chest thats almost like an asthma attack or a cough. I breath in, and cough. Or I get this sensation that I have to force myself to breath. My doctor (who prescribes me other things) said it was all in my head because I suffer from long term psychiatric illness, the worst being panic disorder and major depression.

I've felt this feeling dozens and dozens of times. I'm not dead yet, never turned blue (exept the two times I actually OD'd by doing stupid amounts), and I always maintained consciousness. What could this be caused by? Is it truly possible that it is completely a psychological fear of ODing? Is it my asthma?

NOTE: Also, i started noticing the effect shortly after I had an OD the last time from shooting a crazy amount.

 

[I_Stay_Dead]

You shouldn't take opiates if you have asthma - unless your asthma is under control, e.g. you take asthma medicines as well.

 

[kevz]

It sounds like it could be anxiety induced since you said that you suffer from panic disorder. Do you only get that feeling when you do your low doses of oxy just to keep from withdrawaling or does it happen even at the high doses that get you high?

I'm not familiar with asthma so I can't give you an answer as to whether or not it is your asthma that is causing this but it could very well be a combination of both. Do you snort your oxy? If so, maybe the prolonged use (if you have been snorting for awhile) has damaged your lungs because of the fillers and binders and in combination with your asthma. It's a possibility.

Another theory is that subconsciencely you are worried about ODing again or are worried about something related to your using which increases your anxiety and causing your breathing problems.

 

[dexforfood]

It sounds like it could be anxiety induced since you said that you suffer from panic disorder. Do you only get that feeling when you do your low doses of oxy just to keep from withdrawaling or does it happen even at the high doses that get you high?

I'm not familiar with asthma so I can't give you an answer as to whether or not it is your asthma that is causing this but it could very well be a combination of both. Do you snort your oxy? If so, maybe the prolonged use (if you have been snorting for awhile) has damaged your lungs because of the fillers and binders and in combination with your asthma. It's a possibility.

Another theory is that subconsciencely you are worried about ODing again or are worried about something related to your using which increases your anxiety and causing your breathing problems.

I snort it, and i considered this, its just strange that it didnt happen before at all. And it happens really at any dose. Thats why i considered that it could be strictly psychological.

 

[bingey]

My ex-girlfriedn suffered from severe ashtma and despite using opiates (mainly IV heroin) she never suffered from anything like this , so i think it's all in your head , maybe not all but the harmless respiratory depression which makes for slightly more laboured breathing combined with the surge in blood pressure/ heart beat from a small dose of oxycontin , i have had a lot of post from people who have anxiety attacks after takig oxycontin or other opiates and most often these anxiety attacks focus on their breathing , they think they OD'ed

do a search for Am i OD'ing / respiratory depression / HELp and you will see you are not the only one

 

[freakboy2212]

asthma and opiates

ok so I've had asthma since i was born. it has put me in the hospital a large amount of times.
anyway i recently got into taking opiates. Started out with norcos, than oxycontin, than opana, than heroin. This was all in about a 6-7 month time period.
after about 4 months after using heroin and opana it became an everyday thing. i noticed myself having random asthma attacks which i didn't think much of because i would get attacks from time to time. but it kept getting worse and worse until i ended up in the hospital for asthma. I was intubated and put in an induced coma just so they can put tubes down my throat to breathe for me. i stopped breathing 3 times during the coma and the doctors didn't' think i was going to make it.
when i got out of the hospital i immediatley assumed it was heroin that did it to me because heroin is cut down a lot with crap that is bad for the lungs. so instead of using heroin i started to stick to the 40mg opana er(crush up and snort). i was fine with using just that because i liked it better than anything else even smoking heroin.
So i stayed addicted to opiates (opana mainly) but stopped heroin. but that didn't seem to matter. 3 months later i ended up in the hospital again this time for a couple days longer and i was even closer to death. the doctors were extremely close to giving up on me.
i have now stopped taking opiates due to extreme fear of death but i was wondering if anyone can give me information onto what exactly happened to me? the amount i took to put me in the hospital wasn't insane for my tolerance. in fact i would have just gotten a decent buzz. can anyone explain this?
And if ur a severe asthmatic i highly recommend you see a doctor immediatley if u take opiates.

 

[SvenHuby]

The exact same thing happened to me. Exactly the same. I was put in an induced coma 2 different times and almost died.

 

[albastrux]

I have IV'd heroin for 3 years and has diagnosed asthma for about 10 years, and over the past 3 months about 5 minutes after I dose, the same thing happens to me... I experience the symptoms of an asthma attack. At first, it was only minor symptoms, so I didn't put two and two together, but it's gotten so bad that I am fairly certain that I came very close to death, last time, and so I am going to stop using all together, (which may not be so terrible. I have been in outpatient treatment for 10 months, have decreased the frequency of my use, and perhaps it's just time I stop all together, haha).

At any rate, I'm glad I'm not alone on this, but it's terrifying and just completely awful. Does anyone have any insight on this, perhaps? I do not have any anxiety disorders and I am not at all nervous or anxious when the symptoms begin top appear, though I can tell you, I was certainly panicking, especially the last few times, once the symptoms started. I was able to use my asthma medication to avoid a trip to the hospital...

At any rate, I would love some insight on this. Any ideas?

 

[Mycophile]

You shouldn't take opiates if you have asthma - unless your asthma is under control, e.g. you take asthma medicines as well.

Why do you say this and what is your proof for this??

This seems to be a HUGE gray area even amongst moderators for this site and I REALLY think that the asthma/opioids connection needs to be clarified because too many people including myself have experienced more asthma on opioids and some experts seem to blow it off while others take notice.

I'm not a heavy opiate user, but whenever I was prescribed Percoset or Vicodin and would have some fun using them for a few weeks I noticed that I would get more asthma.

I am a mild asthmatic but I used to be a worse asthmatic, and unless I am smoking weed, which I haven't been lately, I only need my inhaler like once a week give or take.

But when I would be taking Percoset I would need it like twice a day and it made no sense to me and it stopped once I stopped using the Percoset.

And now I only use Kratom about once a week, but there was one time on Kratom where I drank some chamomile tea and IMMEDIATELY afterwards had some bad asthma and it scared me.

I told one of the senior moderators on here that this happened and he completely blew off my experience and told me that it was all in my head but I seriously think that he is wrong, especially considering how often it happened on Percoset and how often it is happening to other asthmatics who use opioids on here.

And to top it all off, there used to be a mod here who was a nurse but he/she no longer posts here for some reason.

I remember asking him/her a question before he/she stopped posting about dangers of my having respiratory depression from opiates and one of the main questions he/she asked was "do you have asthma?"

I responded that I did, but he/she never responded as to why they had asked the question.

I don't mean to be difficult, so I've left the names of these mods out of here, but I find it pretty disturbing that on the one hand an actual nurse would verify that a connection exists between asthma and opioids, while on the other hand another knowledgable mod would totally blow off the connection.

IMO we NEED to verify the truth about how opioids effect asthma and have all mods on here be in agreement about whether or not they do (AND I THINK WE ALL KNOW THEY DO) and to what extent.

 

[tacodude]

Opiate medication is known to usually causes repository depression. Nuff' said

 

[EP158207]

Opiate medication is known to usually causes repository depression. Nuff' said

..only asthma is an inflammatory disorder, and not to do with respiratory depression per se.

Snorting heroin has been shown to trigger asthma attacks. As for the link between IV heroin and asthma, heroin can cause bronchocontriction (tightening of airways) through the degranulation of mast cells. Mast cells are a key component of our immune system and heroin makes them degranulate (which means they release histamines etc). This is the begining of the inflammatory process, of which one potential step is bronchocontriction.

 

[BlueIV]

You shouldn't take opiates if you have asthma - unless your asthma is under control, e.g. you take asthma medicines as well.

Taking asthma meds does not mean it's under control. Mine has been controlled off of medication, as well as on, and has been uncontrolled when off (although I start them again quickly!) and when on multiple meds at fairly high doses. A big sign that asthma isn't controlled is that someone is needing to use their rescue inhaler.

 

[EP158207]

A big sign that asthma isn't controlled is that someone is needing to use their rescue inhaler.

Well, generally its more the case that asthma is considered controlled if there havent been any attacks recently. Asthma is controleld if the meds are being taken and you arent down in A and E sucking up salbutamol nebs.

 

[BlueIV]

Well, generally its more the case that asthma is considered controlled if there havent been any attacks recently. Asthma is controleld if the meds are being taken and you arent down in A and E sucking up salbutamol nebs.

I disagree. Attacks are just one sign that asthma is uncontrolled. There are more minor symptoms that can occur without having attacks that indicate it isn't well under control.

 

[Mycophile]

I disagree. Attacks are just one sign that asthma is uncontrolled. There are more minor symptoms that can occur without having attacks that indicate it isn't well under control.

For example?

I'm guessing you are talking about chest tightness which happens to me.

I guess it's hard to say whether or not it is or isn't under control in the sense that there's probably a spectrum.

Generally my doctor tells me if I need my inhaler more than a few times per week (which I don't unless I'm in a weed smoking phase) that I should be on a steroid inhaler and I think in that case that if you are on a steroid inhaler it is technically "under control" cause it's probably hard to die from an asthma attack if on cortico steroids while also having access to a rescue inhaler.

In terms of opioids though, since they can cause itching through a release of histamines which happens when one has allergies then isn't it also likely to assume that if you have asthma then opioids could also cause an asthma attack for the same reason?

 

[BlueIV]

Fatigue is another symptom. Peak flow meter readings are also a factor in determining if asthma is controlled. I've been on prednisone, a steroid inhaler, along with the albuterol - both inhalers and nebulizers and still had to go to emerg. When it's severe especially for young kids, the rescue inhalers actually don't help very much, as it's difficult to get the med where it needs to be.

I don't know about the opioids, which was why I was reading this topic I could see it being a few different issues, not sure which one is correct.

 

[opiateopinions]

I was put on Life support for two weeks for having asthma and continuing with opiates. I started with the heavy H then even oxys or morphine from the hospital caused severe respiratory depression. As much as I hate it it is very true and very fatal, with my inhalers and nebulizer eventually stopped working and from being scared for my family to see positive test results I refused to let them call paramedics. Then my heart stopped and they called thank goodness. My heart stopped for 15 mins ! Luckily paramedics got oxygen on me asap or id be completely brain dead! I have short term memory loss and have been taking oral prednisone for over a year now! I became allergic to albuterol and xopoanex/levabuterol , sulo-medrol. Advair, duo neb & budesone! Decadron & oral prednisone is all they can treat me with! But it's so hard on the rest of my body I wasn't aware prednisone came in inhalation form! You have answered questions I've been asking for months in you're thread! I'll send you pictures of me on life support if you don't believe me because I didn't believe anyone! Good luck either way you go about you're path! & thanks for the inhaler information! [email protected]